Port workers marching to PM’s office

Over 100 administration staff from the Antigua port authority walked off the job this morning and straight to the prime minister’s office in the rain to vent their frustration over back pay.

OBSERVER media was told that the action reached boiling point after a senior member of staff reportedly assaulted a staff member who is employed as a mechanic. The workers marched straight to the door of the prime minister’s office before they were instructed by police to stay outside the main gate.

The workers said they have been awaiting back pay. According to the workers, at a recent meeting with the Antigua Trades and Labour Union, they were told that an agreement was reached for them to get back pay for only three years, from 2016, instead of the nine years which they were lobbying for dating back to 2009.

Workers said they are not in agreement and they will not be bullied out of back pay for six years. The protesting workers also said that on Wednesday a mechanic at the port was instructed to leave the port after it was felt by management that he led a delegation to the union. A contingent of about a dozen staff was selected to meet with prime minister, Gaston Browne, at around 10 o’clock.